Aerial ropeway on the single-rope system and the like



H. F. H. SHIELDS. AERIAL ROPEWAY ON THE SINGLE R OPE SYSTEM AND THELIKE.

APPLICATION min FEB.28, 1921.

1,386,282. Patented Aug. 2, 1921.

H. F.. H. SHIELDS.

AERIAL ROPEWAY ON THE SINGLE ROPE SYSTEM AND THE LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED FEB.28. 192i.

1,386,282. Patented Aug. 2,1921;

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

- gravity.

UNITED STATES IIEBDEET' ,FREDERICK HENRY SHIELDS, oEwEL INo, ENGLAND,AssIGNon or oNE- PATENT OFFICE.

HALF TO THE BRITISH EOPEWAY ENGINE RI G COMPANY; LIMITED, 01 LON ON;

ENGLAND, A BRITISH COMPANY.

AERIAL' ROPEWAY 'oN THE'sINGL -RQP SYSTEM-AND THEIJKE.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it'known that I, HERBERT HENRY SHIELDS, a-subject of the. King ofEngland, residing at WVelling, 1n the county I of Kent, England, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Aerial Ropewayson theSingle-Rope System, and the like, of which the following is aspeclfication. I

This invention relates mainly to aerial ropeways on the single-ropesystem, and particularly to boxheads or carriersfor use thereon. It isalso applicable to rope-driven runways.

In aerial ropeways on the; double-rope system the usual grip forattachment to the usual hauling rope for haulingthe load along theropeway; has heretofore been used for haulin the load along shunt railsat stations. O ne such grip known. as the overtype lever grip comprisedtwo jaws, whereof one "was fixed on the boxhead and. arranged to beopened and closed by. means of actuating rails provided at the stations.

tom the main hauling rope is not available for hauling theiboxheadsalong the shunt rails at stations, and it hasbeen customary heretoforeto pushethelloads by hand along the shunt rails or to use a chain drivewhich, however, had the defect that it could be used only alongstraight'lines'and not around curves. v

ThlS invention has forits' main ob ect to 'applythe advantages ofmechanical traction of the load on the shunt rails at stations to aerialropeways on the single-rope system.

Another object is to provide. an improved construction of boXheads forthe single-rope system of aerial ropeways and a simpler form of carriagefor rope-driven runways such that they can be automatically attached toan endless movingyropeand be maintained in attachment'therewith underthe action of According to this invention there is provided in an aerialropeway on the singlerope system or a rope-driven runway comprising a.traveling boxhead, the combination with a shunt rail, of a shunttraction :rope which is also operated on the singlerope system and issupported in line, or approximately in line, with the shunt rail,

Specification of Letters Patent.

. Figs. 8 and9,are end elevations of a boxhead having anotherform ofovertype grip and gripping means on the boxhead operated contact withthe shunt rail for grlppln'g theboxhead to the traction rope.

Accordingto another feature of the invention, the said gripping meanscomprise .a movable jaw-and a load-carrying wheel that is operativelyconnectedtherewith and 1s arranged to run on the shunt rail, so thatwhenithe boxhead arrives at a station the gripping. means isautomatically closed upon the traction rope and thereupon maintained inattachment therewith under the action of gravity while the bogzheadtravels along the shunt rail.

g Patented Aug. 2, 1921:. Application filed February 28, 1921. SerialNo. 448,463. I

The aforesaid load-carrying wheel is prefv .erably carried directly bythe movable jaw for the purpose of diminishing the cost' of manufacture.r Qther features. of the invention will be .desciflbedhereinafter andpointed out in th claims The invention is diagrammatically illustratedby way of example in the accompany- 'ing drawing wherein: In aerialropeways on the single-rope sys- Figure l is an endv elevation showingone form of improved boiihead aocordingtothe Figst and 5 are endelevations of a boX- I head provided with a lateral downwardly directedauxiliary gripping device, showing the same open and closedrespectively;

F igs. (Sand/7 are end elevations showing a boxhead having a modifiedovertype grlp in its open and closed positions respectively,

shown in its open and closed position, re-

spectively.

lieferri-ng first to Figs. 1 to 3,-a boxhead Act a construction asusually employed in an aerial ropeway on the-single-rope system andhaving the usual offset wheels B for running on the usual-shunt rails,whereof one; is indicated at C, hasin addition .to the. A

usual main grips-D for; the main ropeway cable E, additional grippingmeans designated generally by the letter]? for gripping an" auxiliarytraction rope G at a station. This additional gripping means is a levergrip oftheovertype comprising a-fixed jaw F mountedon the frame of theboxhead, anda movablejaw F pivoted on the fixed jawf If desired, the.jaw F may, however, .be pivoted onthe said frame. The movable jaw hasan arm bent in the form of a bell-crank lever, whereof the longer, arm Fextends outward transversely of the boxhead on the opposite side from"the hanger H of the bucket, and the shorter arm F extendsdownward toabout the level of the upper end of the bucket-hanger; Pivotally mountedon the lower end of the shorter arm F whihjas shown'in Fig. '3, spreadsout lengthwise of the boxhead to beyond the 1 axes of thewheelsfflB, aretwo additional shunt-rail wheels J which, when "tl 1e gripping'devi'ce Fis open, aretilted at an angle to the vertical as shown in Fig-{1, butare vertical or approximately so whenthe' gripping device'is closed, asshown in'Fig. 2. The wheels J and thewheels B'are preferably at equaldistances apart as shown, but if desired the wheels J may be fartherapart or closer-together than a'rethe wheels B.

Also, only onewheel J maybe provided, but

in this case it will be situated in the-middle of the boxhead. c i

A station inan aerial ropeway on the single rope system at which abovedescribed additional rope-gripping device is to be used for mechanicallyhauling the boxheads position that it is automatically gripped bythe'auxiliary gripping deviceF on the boxheadwhen the shunt-railwheels-J run on to the-shunt rail K which thus operates to close themovable jaw F On the main clips D being detached from the mainhaulingrope E, the whole of the load will be supported by the additionalshunt-rail wheels J and will operate to keep the described overtypelever grip F, closed on the=traction rope G.

Should it :be desired any time to re lease thetraction rope G while theboxhead isbeing hauled along thestation shunt-rail K, the normal runningwheels B will be taken by "a shunt-rail such as Q-whereupon thewheels Jwill become unsupportedand fall away, thus opening the auxiliary grip F.

instead 0f to swing about 'a pivot.

clearly shown, the member in which the' In the modification shown inFigs. 4 and 5, an arm F that extends horizontally outwardly from theboxhead A away from the hanger H atfright-angles to its direction oftravel has a downwardly-directed'jaw F formed on its outer end, and adownwardlydirected movable jaw F 'is pivoted on the fixed jaw and has anangular arm F that carries the shunt-rail wheels J. "It will'be'appreciated that when these wheels run on the shunt-rail K provided forthem, the

lever grip F, F can grip an auxiliary tractionrope arranged at thestation in line or approximately in line with the rail K. Instead of theoperative arm F of the movable jaw being directed away from thebucket-hanger as shown in Figs. 1 to 3, it

may be directed toward the same as in the modified constructionshowninFigs. 6 and 7. In this arrangement no additional wheels suchas J areprovided,"but theusual runningwheels B are carried on the-armF rail (1is used for actuating the auxiliary grip, the operatlon being otherwisethe same as' described above with reference to Figs. 1120's."

'Figsj8 and similar to that shown in Figs. 6 and 7 ,but in which thewheelsBthat actuate the movable jaw "F arearranged to move vertically Aswheels B are journaled is pivotally con- "nected at M to a short'arm-zFintegral with the movable jaw F and carries a-pin N I *that is movableup and down in a vertical slot A provided in the side of the frame ofthe boxhead. j 7 It Wlllbf} appreciated that the provision of an auxliary traction rope running 'on the single'rope system I at a stationa'nd arranged to be gripped by an auxiliary gripping device'provided onthe boxheads results in the advantage of mechanical haulageofthe-double-rope system of aerial ropeways being applied at stations toropeways on the single-rope system. As indicated in broken lines in Fig.2, sheaves L can be ar ranged in various positions for guiding theauxiliary traction ropeG as required.

lVhen the invention is applied to a rope- ;driven runway, wherein amoving rope is used for hauling carriers along atrack in the form of arail, the described load-carryhaving the movable jaw, and the usualshunt 9 show another modification ing auxiliary grip maybe thesole gripon the carrier, and the rope usually provided foroperating such runwayswill constitute. the tractlon rope Gr operated on the single ropesystem. It is to be understood; therefore that the term shunt-rail andshunt or auxiliary traction rope used in this specification and in theclaims include, re-

spectively, the moving rope of a runway, and the track of a runway.

It will be appreciated that various modifications may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of the invention as defined in the claims. Forexample, auxiliary grips of forms other than that described may beemployed, such as a screw'grip, or a grip of the inclined plane type.These grips are of known types in ropeways on the double-rope system anda person versed in the art will be readily able to adapt them to aboxhead to be operated in a manner analogous to that described abovewith reference to a grip; of the lever type. Whatever type of grip isemployed; however, it is essential that the movable jaw shall beoperated under the action of a part, or the whole, of the load when theboxhead carrying the load is to be attached by means of the grip to anauxiliary traction rope at a station, and that the said attachment shallbe maintained under the action of the load.

WVhat I claim as my invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combinationof a rail, a boxhead supported by and arranged to travel along the same,a traction rope operated on the single-rope system and supported inpositional relation to said rail, and gripping means on the boxheadoperated by contact with said rail and arranged to grip said rope.

2. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combinationof a shunt-rail, a boxhead supported thereon, a shunt traction-ropeoperated on the single-rope system and supported in positional relationto said rail, and gripping means on the boxhead operated by contact withsaid rail and arranged to grip said rope.

3. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combinationwith a shuntrail, of a shunt traction-rope operated on the single-ropesystem and supported in positional relation to the rail, a boxheadhaving agrip comprising a fixed jaw and a movable jaw arranged to gripsaid rope, and a loadcarrying wheel operatively connected with themovable jaw and arranged to run on said shunt-rail.

4. In a monocable or single-rope transportation plant, the combinationwith a shuntrail, of a shunt traction-rope operated on the single-ropesystem and supported in positional relation to the rail, a boxheadhaving a lever-grip arranged to grip said rope, said grip comprising ajaw fixed on the boxhead,

and a movable jaw pivoted on the boxhead,

which movable jaw has a bent arm directed at right-angles to thedirection of travel of the boxhead, and a load-carrying wheel j ournaledin said bent arm and arranged to run on said shunt-rail.

5. In a monocable or single-rope transpon tation plant, thecombination'with a shuntrail, of a shunt traction-rope operated on thesingle-rope system and supported in positional relation to the rail, '9.boxhead having a bucket-hanger pivotally mounted in and depending at oneside from the boxhead, said boxhead having a lever-grip arranged to gripsaid rope, said grip comprising a jaw fixed on the boxhead, and amovable jaw pivoted on the boxhead, which movable jaw has a bent armdirected at rightangles to the direction and travel of the boxheadtoward said hanger, and a wheel for supporting the boxhead and its loadjournaled in said bent arm, said wheel being situated in a verticalplane between 'a depending portion of the hanger and the adjacent sideof the boxhead and being arranged to run on said shunt-rail.

6. The combination, with a boxhead for use in a transportation plantoperated on the single-rope system, which boxhead has a grip situated inits central longitudinal plane for attachment to the rope, of anauxiliary grip for attachment to a shunt-rope also operating on thesingle-rope system, which auxiliary grip comprises a jaw fixed on theboxhead, a movable jaw pivotally mounted on the boxhead and having anarm directed at right-angles to the direction of travel of the boxhead,and a wheel for supporting the boxhead on a shunt-rail, which wheel isoperatively connected with said arm.

7. The combination, with a boxhead for use in a transportation plantoperated on the single-rope system, which boxhead has a pivotallymounted bucket-hanger depending at one side therefrom, and a gripsituated in its central longitudinal plane for attachment to thesupporting rope, of an auxiliary grip for attachment to, a shunttraction-rope also operating on the single-rope system, which auxiliarygrip comprises a jaw fixed on the boxhead, and a movable jaw pivotally'mounted on the boxhead and having an arm directed at right-angles to thedirection of travel of the boxhead toward said hanger,

which arm has at its outer end a down-

